Machine for feeding vessels



3 l M m 2 m L- 1 m g S v x 2 @h E NORDSTROM MACHINE FOR FEEDING VESSELS Filed 001;. 10 1919 Apr. 24, 1923.

4 q INVENIOR WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet f3 E. NORDSTROM MACHINE FOR FEEDING VESSELS Filed Oct. 10 1919 I/Vl/ENTOR fax ATTORNEYS Apr. 24, 1923.

WITNESSES:

Patented Apr. 24, 1923.

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELOF NORDSTROM, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR. BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO AMERICAN DAN BOTTLE SEAL CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING VESSELS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELOF Noiios inoni, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Feeding Yemels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more especially to cap making and bottling machines but the mechanism which constitutes the subject matter of the claims may be incorporated n any machine of the same general characteran which vessels are fed in a continuing series from one position to another. The ob ect of the invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement of parts whereby vessels of various sizes may be operated upon by the feeding mechanism. Another object is to provide an improved reciprocatory vessel feeding means of the character shown and described in Patent No. 1212665 granted to me on January 16th, 1917. Other and further ob ects of invention will appear in the specification and be pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the 'acmmpanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of my invention, parts being broken away and parts shown in section.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, parts being broken away and parts shown in section.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the reciprocat-ing bottle grippingdevice.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4--4 Figure 3. I

According to the embodiment of my invention shown on the drawings, in a. frame 1 is journalled a power driven shaft 2 which carries a pulley 3 for driving a, conveyer belt 4, said conveyer belt being moved in the direction of the arrow and passing about a guide roller 5 which is journalled at 6 in a bracket 7 which swings about a 'PIVOl? 8 under the action of a. spring which adapts the pulley 5 to act as a belt tightener. The upper horizontal run of the belt 4 passes forwardly and around a. guide pulley 10 which is journalled at 11 in a rigid portion of the frame. As shown in figure 1, the upper run of the conveyer 4 is flanked by a guide plate or rail 12 which 18 deflected at 13 in the form of a circular arc to correspond to the star wheel conve er to be hereinafter described. Beyond t e arcuate portion 13 said guard rail 12 is providedwith ayieldable portion 14 which extends 0nd guard rail 15 is adjustably mounted on V uprights 16 by means of bolts 17 which pass through the slots 18 in said uprights 16 and serve to clamp the guard rail 15 at any suitable elevation to meet the requirements of the vessels carried by conveyer 4. Said uprights 16 are mounted upon a base plate 19, said base plate being provided with a number of inclined slots 20 through which project bolts 21 which are, according to the present embodiment of my invention, socketed in the flange 22. These bolts serve to clamp the base plate 15 in any position to which it may be adjusted for retaining the guard rail 15 at any desired distance from the guard rail 12, such depending upon the size of the vessel which is being operated upon. The forward end of the base plate 19 is provided with an offset bearing 23 which serves to journal a stub shaft 24 to which is keyed the star wheel conveyer 25. It will be understood therefore that whenever the guard rail 15 is adjusted for any particular size of vessel, the shaft 24 moves therewith so that the star wheel 23 is adjusted with respect to the arcuate portion 13 ofvthe guard rail 12. As shown in Figure 2, the stub shaft 24 is connected by auniversal joint 26 to a coupling shaft 27 which is connected by a universal joint 28 to the upper end of a second stub shaft 29 which is journalled in a bearing 30 in the frame 1. Keyed t0 the stub shaft 29 is a large spur gear 31 which meshes with a pinion 32 (shown in dotted lines in Figure 1) said pinion 32 is keyed to a, vertical shaft 33 directly below a second spur pinion 34 which is also keyed to the shaft 33. Said shaft 33 is journaled in a bearing 35 and has keyed to its upper end, a. crank arm 36 having journalling connection with one end of a connecting rod 37 The other end of the connecting rod 37 is pivotally connected to a pin 135 which depends from an oscillatory arm 136. A'second oscillatory arm 137 has and connections witharm .136 so that sai arms may be caused to oscillate in unison by the connecting rod 37 during the reciprocatory movements of the gripper carria s presently to be referred to." As shown in igure 4, the bed or casting whose. upper surface 42 constitutes the vessel conveyin table 42, is provided "with a dove-tail f groove which opens downwardly. Within this groove is reciprocably mounted a'dovetailed slide 46 to which a cross bar 45 is bolted by means of screws 47, 47.- On the outer ends of cross bar 45 are rigidly bolted the carriages 43 and 44. Said carriages are provided with longitudinally-spaced vertically erran ed bearing bosses 44, 44 43*, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Oscillatably mounted within the bearing boss 44 of the carriage 44 and the oppositely disposed bearin boss 43 of the carriage 43 are a an of vertical shafts to the lower ends of w ich the oscillatory arms 137 and 136 are respectively keyed. Keyed to the upper ends of these vertical shafts are segmental gear arms 39 and 38 which respectively mesh with the segmental gear arms 41 and 40, said arms 41 and be-in keyed to oppositely disposed vertical sha s which are oscillatably mounted in the bearing boss 44- and the corresponding oppositely disposed bearing boss of -thecarriage 43. Mounted on the segmentel lgear arms 39 and 38, are

upwardly and rearwardly extending bent arms63, '63, which are oppositely disposed with respect to each other. Mounted on the segmental gear arms 41 and 40, are upwardly and forwardly extending-bent arms 64,

64, which are 0 positely disposed with re spect to each ot er. Arranged on opposite sides of the vessel conveyin table 42 are gripper bars each of said gripper bars aving its opposite ends pivotally connected' to the oppositely projecting horizontal .ends of the;.bent arms 63, 64, on that side of the table. {Each of the gripper bars 65 is rovided with a luralit of vessel rip in Elements 66. A showri in Figuri a uf slide 46 is provided with a cross bar 48 which carries an adjustable abutment 49 which, in conjunction with an adjustable abutment 50 mounted in the cross bar 45, serves to limit the throw of the lever arm 36. A pin 51 projects upwardly from the naeaeaa iskeyed a shaft 61, said shaft 61 having a 'inion 62 which is driven by a large gear fleyed to the drive shaft 2. It will be understoodfromthe foregoing description that at the commencement of each forward movement of the connecting rod 37, the vessel gripping elements 66 will be moved inwardly to grip the vessels for moving them forwardly whereas at the commencement of each return movement of the connecting rod 37, the vessel gripping elements will be moved outwardly to release the vemels. Should it be desired to provide a second set of gripping elements such as those shown in my above identified patent, a spur gear 67 may be mounted on a shaft which is journalled in a bearing 68, said gear 67 receiving its power from the spur gear 34. The spur gear 67 may then be made to drive crank arm 69 which in turn may transmit power by a rod 70 to a second series of gripping elements similar to those described above.

I claim:

I 1. In a vessel feeding machine, the combination with a travelling conveyer for vessels, of a guide extending longitudinally of said conveyer, a vessel iconveying wheel journalled in said guide, flexible driving means for positively rotating said wheel, and means for adjusting said guide towards and away from the central plane of said conve er.

2. n a vessel feeding machine, a vessel conveyer movable in a straight line, a guide extending longitudinally of said conveyer and adjustable toward and away from the center line of said conveyer, a vessel conveying wheel journalled in said guide and partaking of its adjustment with respect to said conveyer, flexible driving means for positively rotating said wheel, and a second longitudinal guide arranged opposite to the first mentioned guideandhavmg a portion extending partly around and cooperating with said conveying wheel.

3. In a machine of the character described,

a rotary conveyer, a rectilinear conveyer for moving vessels toward said rotary conveyer, a guide rail comprising a rectilinear portion extending along said rectilinear conveyer and a curved portion extending partly around said rotary conveyer, and means for moving the axis of said rotary conveyer towards and away from said rectilinear portion of the guide rail and'flexible driving means for positively rotating said rotary conve er.

4. n a machine of the character described,

a rotaryconveyer, a rectilinear conveyer for moving vessels toward said rotary conveyer, a guide rail comprising a rectilinear portion extending along said rectilinear conveyer and a curved portion extending partly around said rotary conveyer, means for moving the axis of said rotary conveyer towards and away from said rectilinear portion of the guide rail, flexible driving means for positively rotating the rotary conveyer and a second guide rail carried by said moving means and held thereby in parallellism to the first mentioned guide rail.

5. In a machine of the character described, a conveyer movable in a plane, a power shaft rotatable on a fixed axis, a rotary conveyer, means for moving the rotary axis of said rotary conveyer towards and away from said plane, and a flexible shaft connecting said rotary conveyer to said fixed axis power shaft.

6. In a machine of the character described, an endless conveyer belt for vessels, a frame for mounting the same, said frame being provided with a flange extending longitudinally of said conveyer, a guide rail provided with a base flange slidable over said flange on the frame, a stub shaft journalled in the base flange of said guide rail, a wheel conveyer rotated by said stub shaft, and means for driving said stub shaft.

7. In a machine of the character described, an endless conveyer belt for vessels, a frame for mounting the same, said frame being provided with a flange extendin longitudinally of said conveyer, a gui e rail provided with a base flange slidable over said flange on the frame, a stub shaft journalled in the base flange of 'said guide rail, a wheel conveyer rotated by said stub shaft, and means for driving said stub shaft, one of said flanges being provided with parallel slots inclined to said conveyer, and bolts carried by the other of said flanges and slidable in said slots for securing said guide rail in adjusted positions.

8. In a machine of the character described, an endless conveyer belt for vesssels, a frame for mounting the same, said frame being provided with a flange extending longitudinally of said conveyer, a

ide rail provided with a base flange slid;

ble over said flange on the frame, a stub shaft 'ournalled in the base flange of said uide rail, 8. wheel conveyer rotated by said stub shaft and means for driving said stub shaft, said stub shaft driving means including a shaft arranged on a fixed axis, and flexible connecfl tions between said shafts.

9. In a machine of the character described, a table over which vessels are conveyed, a slide reciprocable in the bottom face of said table, a cross bar secured to said slide and projecting on opposite sides of said table, carriages mounted on the outer ends of said crossbar, vessel grippers operatably mounted in said carriages, and means for reciprocating said slide and operating said vessel rippers.

10. n a machine of the character described, a table over which vessels are conveyed, a slide reciprocable in the bottom face of said table, a cross bar secured to said slide and projecting on opposite sides of said table. carriages mounted on the outer ends of said cross bar, vessel grippers operatably mounted in said carriages, and means for reciprocating said slide and operating said vessel rippers, said slide being provided with a riction plate, and means mounted on said table for frictionally engaging said friction plate.

11. In a machine of the character de scribed, a conveyertable provided with a longitudinal recess extending upwardly from the bottom face thereof, a slide mounted in the opening of said recess and provided with a friction plate arranged above said slide and withm said recess, means for exertin friction against said friction plate, vesse gripping elements presented inwardly toward each other above the top surface of said table, and means supported by said slide for mounting said yes-- sel gripping elements.

ELOF NORDSTROM. 

